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CapNBall

TPF Noob!
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Location
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Can others edit my Photos
Photos NOT OK to edit
Hello, I'm new to the forum. Just thought I'd post an intro.

Here's the tl;dr:
I'm a serious hobby photographer from north-central Minnesota, USA. Been doing photography as a hobby for over 25 years, with a little professional work thrown in.

Full (long-winded) backstory, etc:
I started photography in the mid to late 90s , on a Canon AE1 that I bought from a pawn shop. The guy who worked there was an old newspaper photographer who gave me all kinds of advice to get started and told me all the things I didn't want to hear. He refused to sell me the AE1 Program model, and told me I'd be better served to learn to shoot manual. He also preached GLASS, GLASS, GLASS! While wasting money on film while trying to figure out manual shooting wasn't fun, in hindsight I'm grateful for the experience. I still find myself being very intentional with the images I take with digital / mirrorless cameras. I guess I forget that storage space is cheap!
I got started with Photoshop in about 1997? 1998? Version 4.3, whenever that was. I fell in love with that right away. It was like magic at the time. I got really consumed with learning more and experimenting with composites and relighting images. Interestingly, the more automated Photoshop has gotten, the less joy I have in working with it. In fact, I got rid of my subscription a little over a year ago, and have switched to other softwares that are less automated, but have more of a "personal touch" if that makes sense.
Over the years, I went from shooting with Canon SLRs to Sony when I went digital - this was before the mirrorless Sony, it was right after Sony bought Minolta, so it was basically the digital version of Minolta cameras. I used the a100 for a long time before deciding to switch to something else. I ended up getting into Nikon DSLRs and then mirrorless. I also tried a Lumix S5 for awhile. That is a seriously underrated camera for stills, but the ecosystem and community is really focused on video. It made it hard to find certain gear or find people to talk to about still photography in that system.
Probably 7-8 years ago I discovered David Hobby's Strobist site and became obsessed with lighting. I got some cheap speedlights and a trigger and found excitement for photography again that I hadn't felt since the beginning.
Of course, as things go, that excitement eventually wore off. I still enjoy taking pictures and lighting and setting up to get a result, but it kind of took a backseat to other stuff as well. I also found over time that I hated editing more and more. Two years ago I decided to stop shooting raw, and just get my jpegs right in camera, with the exception of shooting something where I really really need that dynamic range, and bracketing doesn't make sense. So pretty much, almost never.
As to the pictures I take, it's mostly portrait and landscape with a little commercial/product stuff thrown in.

As for the username, one of my (many) other hobbies is civil war era percussion revolvers (aka cap and ball revolvers). That's a username I use in other places on the web. Or used to... Another thing that's happened as I've become a grumpy old guy is being burnt out on social media and going back to older style internet, like forums. I've gotten rid of most of my accounts with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Anyhow... That's my back story. I'm excited to be here and meet everyone!
 
Hi welcome from this side of the pond
I did some strobe work ... rolling cars, round coins etc.. brill fun lol
 
Hi welcome from this side of the pond
I did some strobe work ... rolling cars, round coins etc.. brill fun lol
The strobes are definitely fun! When I got into them, it was like unlocking some kind of magic.
 

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